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A customer who saw Penny collapsed in the back room said they had to kick the door down to reach her, which took more than five minutes and delayed CPR treatment.

Tributes to Penny from family members, friends and customers have been left on the ECHO’s Facebook page.

Her nephew Jerome Robert Fulton wrote: R.I.P auntie Penny, such a lovely woman, one of the nicest people you could ever meet in life. You will be missed so much :(

Family member Diane Mccully thanked those who had left tributes.

She said: “As I member of her family, we wish to thank everyone for their messages of support and condolences.”

Others described Penny as a “lovely person”.

Paulio Edwards said: “Rip Penny what a lovely person you was you will be missed, always smiling in that bookies.”

Michelle Jenkins wrote: “This is too sad. My son was speaking to this poor lady in the bookies just minutes earlier before she tragically passed away. She was congratulating him on his big win, how awful poor lady R.I.P.”

Mel Happy Dobson said: “RIP Penny my thoughts and heart are with the family, you were such a lovely lady and you were so kind to everyone you met. Miss you always xx.”

Some readers questioned why Penny was left alone and called for Ladbrokes to reconsider its policies.

Shaun Johnston said: “This is one reason why lone working shouldn’t be allowed, especially in a job like this when security is high”.

And Kate Whiting wrote: “That’s disgusting. “They should have made provisions for every eventuality. No one should work on their own at night, but many still do as extra staff is just seen as a waste of money and profits unfortunately.”

Ladbrokes declined to comment on its security measures when contacted by the ECHO.

A spokesman said: “Given the tragic circumstances we will not be issuing a detailed commentary on our security measures/controls and the time line of events at this stage until we have collated all the necessary information.”